


I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend, I Wanna Kiss Your Lips

by MoonGoddex



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Dynamax (Pokemon), F/F, Gift Fic, Gratuitous Honking of Vuvuzelas, Love Confessions, Pokemon Battles, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, SWSH Spoilers, Secret Crush, Supportive Siblings, Unrepentant Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonGoddex/pseuds/MoonGoddex
Summary: Marnie wants to be Champion, and she can't let a crush on some girl she's only known a few months get in the way of that. Especially not when it's her rival.
Relationships: Mary | Marnie/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 6
Kudos: 101
Collections: Fic In A Box





	I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend, I Wanna Kiss Your Lips

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skysedge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skysedge/gifts).



> Thank you for your prompts, skysedge! I hope you enjoy :)

A familiar voice calling her name made Marnie jump a little, which she immediately disguised as a bounce, and a turn.

Gloria. She nodded, acknowledging her, inviting her to keep her company while Marnie waited on coffee she'd ordered.

"How've you been getting on wi' training?" Gloria asked, all smiles and energy. Marnie had no idea how she kept it up - wasn't it exhausting being that cheerful?

"Uhh... Alright, I guess." She hesitated; how much should she give away? Was it okay to give away details? Gloria didn't seem like the sneaky type, didn't much take her for someone who'd use underhanded tactics.  
But maybe that was what she wanted Marnie to think so she could do exactly that. She wasn't 100% sure how this whole 'rival' thing was meant to work, if she was honest.  
So Marnie just shrugged. Nonchalant. Asked, "What 'bout you?"

"Great! Been training in the wild area a lot. Raboot is doing so well, I'm so proud of her - she evolved since you last saw her!" Looking over her shoulder, she beckoned, "C'mere, love, don't be shy," and a Raboot peeked out behind her leg before quickly hiding again.  
She beamed at Marnie. "Don't worry, she's just shy around new folk outside of battle."

"She's plenty bigger than last time," she noted, and was immediately cut off by the barista calling her name.  
She grabbed her coffee, and gave an awkward wave with her free hand.  
"Well. Um. Nice seein' you."

\--

She was sitting by a stream, letting her Scrafty splash about in it while her other Pokemon slept in a pile beside her, when she heard that voice again.

"Fancy bumping into you here!"

Marnie turned to confirm who it was, as if there was any question.

"Mind if I join ya?" Gloria asked, already sitting down before Marnie gave her answer.

"S'pose so," she answered, finding herself smiling a little. Nice to see a familiar face, right?

Gloria looked to the stream and gasped.  
"Your Scraggy evolved!"

Marnie froze.  
Did knowing that give her an advantage?  
"Er. Yeah. A bit."

She laughed - light and lilting. "'A bit'. You're funny."

Was she? She thought she'd just blurted out something dumb.  
She shrugged, tried to change the subject.  
"Been up to much?"

Gloria beamed, and pulled out a Pokeball, released an Applin.  
"I've been hunting for one for about a week."

"Cute. Who for?"  
She felt... something. Something that wasn't indifference.

Gloria cocked her head. "For me? Who else?"

"Oh." Well, whatever that 'something' was before, it was now relief. "It's an old wives tale. If you give someone you like an Applin, you're meant to be together forever. Or somethin' sappy like that."

"Ohhh!" Gloria mused. "That'll be why this random lass yelled 'good luck!' when I caught one and did a wee dance after."

Marnie laughed. "Probably, yeah."

They lapsed into silence for a while, watching Scrafty splash until he got tired and lay by the riverbank, drying off.

"I best get on my way," Gloria finally announced, standing and recalling her Applin.

"Right. Good seein' you."

Gloria smiled, and walked off. Marnie caught herself watching her go; watching long enough to catch Gloria glance back over her shoulder and smile.

\--

There was a commotion up ahead, and normally Marnie wouldn't get involved in anything that didn't look like her business.  
But unfortunately, she heard the telltale honk of a vuvuzela, and knew immediately it was Team Yell. Which kind of made it decidedly Her Business.

 _"YOU GOTTA BEAT ME FIRST IF YOU WANT BY!"_ one girl with a pink fauxhawk hollered, and was flanked by a gaggle of Team members, blowing their horns to hype her up.

The flash of a Pokemon being released was followed by a roar of an Obstagoon, and Marnie quickened her pace.

"You're gettin' NOWHERE near Marnie, luv, we'll make sure of it!" one of them she recognised yelled just as Marnie caught up behind them.

"That right, Daryl?" she asked, and Daryl near enough jumped a mile out his skin. The others turned and whooped for joy, chanting her name.

"We're gonna crush this lass so she doesn't cause you any more trouble!" another one she didn't know the name of beamed, and Marnie looked over her shoulder to see Gloria, looking slightly startled, but not terribly afraid.  
Her gut twisted.  
She knew Team Yell meant well, but--

She shook her head. "Gloria's gonna flatten yous. Your funeral."

Gloria laughed, and released her Alcremie, which the Team snorted at initially until the girl facing her went, "Aw, fuck," and the realisation of what type they were facing rippled through the crowd.  
Marnie bit back a giggle, folded her arms and watched the show.

It was a wipeout; the fauxhawk girl's team got knocked out one by one, and she let out a new string of colourful swears each time, with increasing desperation. After her last Pokemon bit it, she recalled it, and turned to the rest of the team (all jeering), "You lot do better, then!"

"Or," Marnie proposed, "I could battle her now. If she wins against me, you lot leave her alone, because you know as well as me I'd kick each of yer arses, so it's not worth wastin' yer time on battles you'll lose. And if she loses, you leave her alone, 'cause she has to heal, and I'm capable of winnin' my own fights."

They muttered between themselves, and Daryl piped up, "But, either way, we have to leave her alone?", followed by a chorus of, "Yeah!" and "No fair!"

"That's the point. You can stick around and watch, but I don't want yous hasslin' her."  
She released Morpeko, and nodded to Gloria.  
"Give Alcremie a rest, it looks knackered."

"A bit, aye," she conceded, recalling it. She thought for a few moments, eyeing Morpeko, and the audience. Marnie wondered what she was thinking - was she devising tactics to beat her? Or was she thinking of throwing the match as thanks?  
If Marnie was gonna win, she wanted to do it fair and square.

"C'mon, then. Gimmie yer best fight - I wanna show this lot why yer a worthwhile rival."

Gloria's eyes lit up - she nodded, and sent out a Vibrava Marnie had never seen before.  
At first, she was confused. Why would she send out a flying type against Morpeko's electric side?  
Then she remembered a conversation she'd had with Piers in the past; both of them arguing over what type it was until they'd searched it up online.  
It wasn't flying at all - it was ground type.

She didn't swear, because she didn't plan on showing any weakness. Instead, she smiled, aiming for disarming.  
It didn't work. Gloria bowled Morpeko right over with barely a scratch on her Vibrava.  
Marnie recalled her, pressed a little apologetic kiss to the Pokeball, stowing it away.

Fine. She sent out her Toxicroak, and watched as Gloria's eyes widened.  
She didn't know about that one, evidently.

Team Yell started whooping, hollering, and she hoped they wouldn't realise it didn't necessarily give her an _advantage_ , it just meant she wasn't going to get smoked in the first turn. She led off with a Sucker Punch, and Vibrava looked dazed.

Another few quick moves, and it was knocked out, Gloria smiling bitterly.  
She tossed out a Corviknight, and Marnie laughed. They really were type-stalling, weren't they? And Toxicroak didn't have another Sucker Punch left in her.

Marnie recalled, sent out Scrafty - risky, but probably her best bet - quickly hit out with a Brick Break. Gloria returned with a Steel Wing, leaving Marnie with just enough energy to let loose a nasty Crunch, that threw Corviknight off balance enough for her to quickly instruct for a second one.

It wasn't enough, though. Corviknight used Drill Peck, and Scrafty went down immediately.

She switched in Liepard, had her use Fake Out, and then a Nasty Plot as Corviknight flinched.

Then Corviknight Taunted.  
So clearly, she knew something about Marnie's team composition. She'd planned on a Torment, next.

Clever.

No matter. She used another Sucker Punch, and the Corviknight wobbled, clearly on its last legs. It managed a Drill Peck that didn't put much of a scratch of Liepard, and her next move knocked it out.

Marnie mentally calculated.  
How many Pokemon did she have left? How many did Gloria have?

She released her Cinderace, and answered the question.  
"I won't use Applin against you. He's just a wee thing, still. So this is my last stand. Ready, love?"  
Gloria smiled, and Marnie's heart skipped a beat.  
She frowned in return. Distraction wasn't fair.  
(But was she really aiming for distraction? Or was that Marnie's burden to bear?)

Another couple Sucker Punches went through, but it didn't really matter. Liepard fell to Cinderace so easily.  
Toxicroak was her final Pokemon.  
And she didn't stand long, either.

The last blow landed, and Team Yell erupted in boos, but Marnie recalled Toxicroak and rounded on them.  
"She won fair and square, we had a deal. Leave it."

Gloria crossed over to extend her hand for a shake, and Marnie didn't return it right away.  
It wasn't that she didn't want to. It was that she didn't know what it would reveal about herself if she did.

It was more important to make a statement to Team Yell, she realised - and if Gloria brought up her slightly clammy hands, or the tremor in her grip, then she could easily blame that on exertion. It had been a tough battle.

She took it, shook as firm as she could, and didn't let go as she talked to her fans.  
"Gloria's my rival. I respect her, okay? If you don't let me fight her, how am I meant to know how strong I have to be to beat her?"

They murmured between themselves, and seemed to come to a conclusion. Ripples of "fine," "sure," "whatever," rang through as they dispersed.

She let go as soon as more backs were turned.

"Good fight," Marnie commented, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"You too!" Gloria grinned, patting Cinderace on the back before recalling her. "Wanna walk to the Pokemon centre together to heal up?"

"...It's alright. You go ahead."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sure? I don't want you getting jumped off some other trainer and having no-one to look out for you."

Marnie shrugged. "Then I'll beat 'em one on one. Trainer v trainer. I can take care of myself."

Gloria laughed, clearly taking it as a joke. "If you're sure," she nodded, and started walking off.

Something sunk in the pit of Marnie's stomach.  
Why had she said no? She wanted to spend more time with Gloria; she wanted to talk, to hear her laugh again, to see that sweet smile-

...That was why, wasn't it?  
She _liked_ her.  
And that was dangerous. Especially if she wanted to become Champion.

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. It was just a stupid crush. It would go away. It wasn't more important than succeeding. She couldn't throw away her dreams over some girl she'd only known a couple months. Especially not with Spikemuth depending on her.

\--

The Championship tournament did not go well.  
But she didn't have to face up against Gloria, at least. Got knocked out in the Semifinals by Bede, of all people, and took her frustrations out the changing room wall, beating her fists against them - not quite hard enough to hurt herself or make a dent in them, but hard enough she got some catharsis.

Piers came by, told her he was proud of her. Told her to keep her chin up; she'd gotten further than he had.  
He wasn't as much comfort as he usually was, though she couldn't really blame him for that.

And then everything went kind of pear-shaped.

Piers dragged Marnie along to help - told her there's no point holding grudges when there's more at stake.  
That wasn’t the problem, but she wasn't ready to tell him that. Kept her head low, avoided looking Gloria in the eye as she helped.  
How could she face her when she didn't get the chance to see her in the Championship?  
How could she face herself when that was what troubled her when the whole country had gone mad over... whatever Rose and Oleana were up to?

She helped, but she kept her distance.  
Hoped maybe she'd find the courage to say something, with the imminent danger they were all in.  
Or maybe Gloria might notice her quietly pining, might confess first so that, no matter what happened to them, at least they knew how they felt about each other.

But no.  
Gloria was a good person.  
She was so focused on helping she didn't notice Marnie in her own world. And why should she?

It got resolved. Of course it did. Gloria was competent.

Piers made her watch the finals, and gave her a hug to try pull her out of her thoughts. It didn't work.

"...So you like her?" he asked, and she sat bolt upright, afraid anyone sitting near them might have heard despite the roar of the crowd.

"I dunno what you're talkin' about."

"You're a crap liar, Marn. Look. Go talk to her after, okay? And lighten up."

Marnie scowled, and wriggled free of his arm. "Easy for you to say. She wouldn't want me. I failed before I got to face her."

Piers snorted, and her scowl turned into a snarl before he explained. "You think she cares? You know I'm seeing Raihan. He's seen me fail more times than I can count. Been the one to beat me half those times. Still likes me for some reason." He shrugged. "She's a nice lass. You get on with her. Just tell her. Even if she says no, I bet you a tenner she'll still want to be your pal."

"Fine," Marnie snapped. "But I'm spendin' my tenner on good ice cream and you don't get any."

Piers rolled his eyes. "Fair. And I'll use your tenner on celebratory takeout you don't get to share."  
He extended a hand, and Marnie shook it, firm enough it was painful - Piers squeezed right back.

They only broke it because they heard the familiar sound of Dynamaxing - Leon sending his Charizard back, twenty times bigger, towering over the stadium. She felt Piers tense next to her.  
Gloria followed suit, sending her Cinderace back, emerging with a gigantic ball of flame beneath it.

"What is she doing?" she whispered to herself - the type matchup didn't quite make sense, fire v fire? Leon's face showed up on the screen, and he clearly was thinking the same.  
But when the cameras panned to Gloria, she was smirking.

She was up to something.

Leon gave an order the audience couldn't hear over all the commotion, as did Gloria, and Marnie watched Leon, expecting him to go first.  
He did not.

Gloria struck out with a Max Lightning, and Charizard seized up, cried out, echoing through the stadium.

"How?!" she asked, and Piers grinned.

"She taught it Electro Ball."

Marnie gawped, and the energy in the crowd built; most people who'd still been seating rose to their feet, meaning Marnie and Piers had to too if they wanted to see where this went. She was on tiptoes, and Charizard was still standing, retaliating with a Max Rockfall that clearly did significant damage to Cinderace.  
But she hit back with another Max Lightning, and Charizard toppled with a roar, Leon recalling it before it could hit the stands behind him.

It was as if the crowd needed a moment to process what had just happened.

Leon had lost.

...Gloria had won.

And when that realisation got through, it was the loudest Marnie had ever heard a Stadium get, cries of joy, confusion, disappointment, exhilaration, all mixed into one great big mess that didn't settle for a solid ten minutes. The chant, "GO, GO, GLORIA!" caught on in the crowd, and the cameras caught her smiling, bowing.

Marnie had no idea how she was going to measure up after that.  
But she knew then that she had to try.

\--

She'd gotten Gloria's number off Hop.  
Texted, asked her if she wanted to grab a cuppa somewhere.

Gloria had agreed easier than Marnie had anticipated. Had to quickly come up with somewhere to go, and settled on a nice little cafe in Circhester that had good reviews online.

She waited, picking at her nail polish, unsure if Gloria would even show up. Surely she was busy? The commotion hadn't completely died down after... everything. She kept checking her phone, expecting the, 'sorry it's late notice but I can't come' text to arrive any second.

It didn't. The bell on the cafe door rang instead, and Gloria's voice called out. "Marnie! Hiya, love, how're you doing?"  
She pulled Marnie up into a hug, and Marnie's heart raced.

"I'm- yeah! I'm good." Nervous, but she wasn't going to mention that. "How about you?"

"Great! Really glad to have a day off. Everything's been mad."

"I can imagine," she smiled. Was this adding to the madness? Was this going to be too much at once?  
Well. Not like she could change her mind. Piers had upped the stakes - told her he'd take the tenner off her if she didn't ask, too.

"I'll get us drinks - you want a cappuccino? Or you on tea?"

"You don't have to-"

"I got a scary amount of money from winning and I want to spend it on other people. Let me. What're you having?"

"...Cappuccino, then, please."

Gloria beamed and hopped up to the counter, chatting with the staff as they made her order, telling them about the league. They let her go once her order was up, and she carried both cups to the table, sat them down.

"So! You wanted to chat. What's up?"

Marnie took a fortifying sip of her coffee, first, licking the froth off her lip and hoped that looked cute instead of sloppy.  
She took a deep breath, and began.  
"I'm sorry I didn't get to face off against you in the Championships. I had looked forward to it, but... Yeah. That's- sorry, that's not why I'm here, really."  
Gloria tilted her head, listening closely.  
"So... Okay, can I just be blunt? I'm gonna be blunt. I like you. A lot. Not just as a rival, or a friend. And I know you might have other people you're interested in, you'll have a selection of folk now, but, yeah, um. If you're interested, I'd like to date you. If not, I get it, just-"

"I'd like to date you," Gloria interrupted. "I'd like that a lot, actually. I- yeah. I didn't know if you wanted me around. Was a wee bit scared you didn't like me that much, before the whole thing with Team Yell that time, but..."

"Wait. You serious?"

She laughed. "Of course I'm serious! You're really lovely. Does that make us girlfriends, then?"

Marnie really hadn't thought this far ahead. She'd been so convinced she'd say no she hadn't even considered this outcome at all.  
"Girlfriends sounds... good? Yeah? Yeah!"

Gloria grinned, and wiggled a little in her seat, clearly thrilled. "Oh my goodness, this is so exciting. This might be the best week ever."  
She reached across the table and offered her hand, palm up. Marnie took it and squeezed.

Then she swore.  
"I owe Piers a tenner. He's gonna be insufferable."

"Wait, why?"

"We made a bet. I thought you'd say no. He's gonna order takeout and wave it in my face 'cause I can't eat it."

Gloria laughed so loud some of the other customers started looking at them. "Well, if I can come over, I could pay for takeout for us...?"

"Devious. I love it. Let's do it."


End file.
